Adopted musicians share tales on CBS special

Michael Cidoni, Associated Press

Published
4:00 am PST, Tuesday, December 23, 2008

**FILE** This Nov. 24, 2008 file photo shows country singer Faith Hill appearing on the NBC "Today" television show in New York's Rockefeller Center. Country superstar Hill was also adopted as an infant, but after hitting adolescence, had to fight off the adoption stigma. "When kids would call one another names, they'd say, 'You act like you're adopted.' And I'd always get 'em good, because I'd say, 'Well, I am adopted. So what do you think about that?' " she said. (AP Photo/Richard Drew,File) less

**FILE** This Nov. 24, 2008 file photo shows country singer Faith Hill appearing on the NBC "Today" television show in New York's Rockefeller Center. Country superstar Hill was also adopted as an infant, but ... more

Photo: Richard Drew, AP

Photo: Richard Drew, AP

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**FILE** This Nov. 24, 2008 file photo shows country singer Faith Hill appearing on the NBC "Today" television show in New York's Rockefeller Center. Country superstar Hill was also adopted as an infant, but after hitting adolescence, had to fight off the adoption stigma. "When kids would call one another names, they'd say, 'You act like you're adopted.' And I'd always get 'em good, because I'd say, 'Well, I am adopted. So what do you think about that?' " she said. (AP Photo/Richard Drew,File) less

**FILE** This Nov. 24, 2008 file photo shows country singer Faith Hill appearing on the NBC "Today" television show in New York's Rockefeller Center. Country superstar Hill was also adopted as an infant, but ... more

Speaking backstage last month after filming their appearances for the CBS special "A Home for the Holidays," Foxx, Hill and Cole shared how they coped with being adopted and why they performed for the show, which offers a mix of musical entertainment and information about child adoption.

"I was lucky," said the Oscar-winning Foxx ("Ray"). "I was adopted at 7 months, but the lady who adopted me also adopted my mother, so I had a relationship with my biological parents, also."

Country superstar Hill was also adopted as an infant and had to fight off the adoption stigma as an adolescent. "When kids would call one another names, they'd say, 'You act like you're adopted.' And I'd always get 'em good, because I'd say, 'Well, I am adopted. So what do you think about that?' " she said.

Soul diva Cole said, "My personal story was my mother was on drugs all my life and she didn't get a little bit better until I became 'Keyshia Cole the Celebrity.' Maybe it was a good way for her to see herself: that your daughter has become so much and she's become so big."

Etheridge, a mother of four, adopted the two children her former partner, director Julie Cypher, gave birth to during their relationship. It wasn't lost on Etheridge that her involvement in the special came just days after Arkansas voters approved a law banning gays from adopting children.

"Our homes are good homes," Etheridge said, who also has twins with her current partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels. "We're hard-working people. We love. We live. We can raise people to be members of society. It is a crime to keep children who could be in a loving home away just because those two parents are of the same sex. It's a crime. It's just a shame."

Hill, who hosts and performs on the special, said "I believe it's over 20,000 children have been adopted because of this show. So when this show was viewed in any state, in any area, it just helps get the word out. It encourages people to really look inside their heart, and pick up the phone and ask, 'Where can I adopt a child?' "